The Making of Jane Austen - Softcover

Devoney Looser

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1421428997 ISBN 13: 9781421428994

Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019

Synopsis

Just how did Jane Austen become the celebrity author and the inspiration for generations of loyal fans she is today? Devoney Looser s The Making of Jane Austen turns to the people, performances, activism, and images that fostered Austen s early fame, laying the groundwork for the beloved author we think we know.

Here are the Austen influencers, including her first English illustrator, the eccentric Ferdinand Pickering, whose sensational gothic images may be better understood through his brushes with bullying, bigamy, and an attempted matricide. The daring director-actress Rosina Filippi shaped Austen s reputation with her pioneering dramatizations, leading thousands of young women to ventriloquize Elizabeth Bennet s audacious lines before drawing room audiences. Even the supposedly staid history of Austen scholarship has its bizarre stories. The author of the first Jane Austen dissertation, student George Pellew, tragically died young, but he was believed by many, including his professor-mentor, to have come back from the dead.

Looser shows how these figures and their Austen-inspired work transformed Austen s reputation, just as she profoundly shaped theirs. Through them, Looser describes the factors and influences that radically altered Austen s evolving image. Drawing from unexplored material, Looser examines how echoes of that work reverberate in our explanations of Austen s literary and cultural power. Whether you re a devoted Janeite or simply Jane-curious, The Making of Jane Austen will have you thinking about how a literary icon is made, transformed, and handed down from generation to generation.

About this title

Review:

"Energetic and revealing."

(Jane Smiley New York Times Book Review)

"One of the most fascinating sections... consequently takes in the wildly different approaches of [Austen s] early illustrators."

(Wall Street Journal)

"Looser is a sober and conscientiously corrective guide, constantly prompting us to historicise the conventional ways in which we conceive of Austen... This is a studious and sensible book, driven by a commitment to shedding light on Austen's work and context."

(Times Higher Education)

"Timely and authoritative."

(Times Literary Supplement)

"Austen fans have another book to add to their libraries."

(Publishers Weekly)

"[Looser's] arguments are refreshing and balanced. The Making of Jane Austen lovingly unveils Austen's posthumous journey to become a permanent fixture in classic English literature."

(Foreword Reviews)

"An informative and delightful read for literary lovers who want to learn more about one of the most celebrated authors of all time, The Making of Jane Austen puts the famed novelist in a whole new light."

(Bustle)

"Looser's book is full of forgotten performances, artists, and remakes, showing that Austen has long been enlisted to play a variety of roles."

( --First Things)

"The Making of Jane Austen presents a compelling history of how the phenomenon of 'Jane! Austen!' came to be..."

--(Women's Writing)

"Written with wit and in pleasing yet learned prose, the book bridges well the gap between academic and popular writing... Altogether, new information for scholars and fans and great fun. Highly recommended."

--(Choice)

Book Description:

An engaging account of how Jane Austen became a household name.

About this edition

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1421428997
• ISBN 13: 9781421428994
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 308